Russian energy minister Novak says open to oil relationship with US

Russia Energy Minister Alexander Novak pictured at a joint press conference during the 173rd Ordinary Meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria on November 30, 2017.

Omar Marques | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

ABU DHABI — Russia is always open to a relationship with the U.S. on oil, its Energy Minister Alexander Novak told CNBC in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

“With regard to the possibility developing relations with the minister of energy for the United States, I am in contact with him, we are always ready to develop a dialogue on energy between our countries,” Novak told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble in an exclusive interview. “But the ball isn’t in our…